Last week IGN caught up with Nintendo producer Eiji Aonuma to chat about Wind Waker HD. But during our interview we couldn't help but ask a few questions about their other upcoming Zelda project, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds. For a game due out in two and a half months, we still know surprisingly little about it.
Here’s three things (sort of) that we learned about the upcoming Nintendo 3DS installment of Zelda.
The E3 art for Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (middle) was inspired by the Japanese box art for A Link to the Past (far left).
Before we get too specific, here's some quick context: During a Nintendo Direct presentation in early August, Global President Saturo Iwata announced a few new details for A Link Between Worlds. During the presentation, Iwata introduced a new piece of art that depicted a younger Link than the one shown previously at E3 2013. We asked Aonuma to talk a little bit both pieces, and tell us why the change happened.
Eiji Aonuma: In Japan, where this game is called Kamigami no Triforce 2 (editors note: this translates to The Triforce of the Gods 2, the original Japanese title of the game we know as A Link to the Past), in the U.S., it’s titled A Link Between Worlds, so there’s a little bit of difference even in the image the title creates. We’re positing this as… I guess you could say it’s a sequel to the last game.
But addressing the artwork, if we look at the original title, you see that the artwork that we used to advertise the game didn’t really match the artwork that was in the game, because the artwork we had to advertise the game had a very mature, adult-like Link. Then, when you got into the game, of course, because of the technology of the time, you couldn’t see Link in any specific detail. So that gap wasn’t problematic, let’s say. However, as we’ve moved on to 3DS and started developing this game, we’ve discovered that you can see Link in the game.
I have to say that when we were creating artwork for E3, we really just hadn’t finalized what that artwork was going to be, so the image that you saw, the art asset we used for E3, was almost a placeholder, let’s say. Then, as we started getting further into the development of the game and started finalizing the artwork and looking at the cinematic scenes and looking at how Link was represented in the game itself, we then adapted the artwork to come closer to what you were going to see in the game, and thereby remove that gap that had previously existed in the original title. Also, just letting you know, since it’s not finalized yet, we may see more changes going forward. Please understand that what you guys are seeing is really development in… You’re getting a live, real-time view into development. Please understand what this change represents, and that we may see more changes moving forward as well.
When Aonuma described the art, we noticed he mentioned “cinematic scenes.” Up until now, Nintendo has only shown us two demos and multiple screenshots from a top-down perspective, so we asked him to elaborate his previous answer.
Aonuma: For people who really want to get into the story and play the game for that whole story aspect – that’s what drives them to play the game – there are certain elements of the story that you really have difficulty representing from a top view or even from a side view. So there are other views that I guess you could call movie-type scenes or cinematic-type scenes in the game, yes.
What does this mysterious bracelet do?
Even in the original 3D art, we could help but noticed Link is wearing a new bracelet. The detail carried over in the revised art shown last August, so we asked about it.
Aonmua: Good job noticing that, the bracelet. [laughs] That’s very nicely done. The bracelet is a very important item that he gets at the beginning of the adventure, and it’s something that’s really important throughout the course of the adventure. I don’t want to give away too much, because it will spoil a lot of the fun, but let’s just say that it ties into Link’s ability to become a picture… I don’t know if we’re calling them drawings or paintings or pictures? Forgive me for not having the right terminology. I’m sure you’ll see materials that call it one or the other and give the correct terminology you should use.
Obviously getting an answer to this question was a long shot, but we asked anyway. A Link to the Past had a self-contained story, where everything pretty much wrapped up when that game ended. Now that we’re drawing closer and closer to the impending release of A Link Between Worlds, we asked if Aonuma could share any details or entry points into the story. How does this game tie into the story of A Link to the Past?
Aonuma: [nervous laughter] Sorry, the PR group is telling me not to answer that question. [more laughs]
Jose Otero is an Associate Editor for IGN and host of the Nintendo Voice Chat podcast. You can read more about his silly opinions by following him on twitter.
Source : ign[dot]com
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